5 Essentials of a Graphic Design Resume in 2020

Get your graphic design resume in top shape if you’re applying for design jobs in 2020 with these 5 essential tips tailored to graphic design resumes.

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The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that the employment of graphic designers is projected to grow 3 percent from 2018 to 2028.

This means that graphic designers will face strong competition for available positions.

 

What you need is a resume that will make you stand out. Some graphic designers might opt to just provide a portfolio but this might be a mistake as hiring managers will first look at your resume to decide if they want to invest more time in evaluating you.

 

Beat the competition with these 5 essentials of a graphic design resume in 2020:

 

1.   Make it relevant to the job you are targeting

 

Any information you write in your Graphic Designer resume should be on point and relevant to the job profile. Unnecessary information on your resume will often get your application overlooked.

 

Follow the instructions below to fashion the perfect graphic designer resume:

 

  • If you are a fresh graduate or do not have much experience then your resume should include your education as a graphic designer and relevant certifications. And if you are an experienced professional, your resume should mention your experience as a graphic designer.
  • If you do not have any relevant experience, but still want to apply to the position of a graphic designer mention your internships and certifications and the skills you have gained with them.
  • If you have held down jobs previously in other industries or have gained internships that have nothing to do with being a graphic designer, skip mentioning these details in your resume.

 

2.   Provide performance figures by quantifying your achievements

 

Provide figures and numbers to prove your achievements and contributions as it can help the recruiter recognize the extent of your capabilities as a graphic designer.

 

For example, if you developed logos and created flyers & banners for a client. Writing it as such won’t have the desired impact. On the contrary, if you were to give the number of logos, flyers, and banners you designed each week, the recruiter will surely pay attention.

 

Take this for example:

 

  • Developed 10+ advertisements & logos weekly in InDesign along with creating flyers & banners for a Dutch newspaper

 

By mentioning performance figures, you are showing the recruiter your credibility as a graphic designer.

 

Take this snippet as an example of the perfect ‘Professional Experience’ section:

advertising snippet

 

As you can see, all the framed points are action-oriented statements and they show the actions of the candidate along with the results of these actions, giving recruiters the right reason to shortlist them.

 

3.   Organize your resume in the best structure

 

 

As most recruiters have to go through hundreds of resumes to shortlist candidates, they do not have the time to read every single line and mostly focus on the key determining factors.

 

If your resume is not structured properly and the provided information is scattered, no recruiter would go through it. Do not rely on just your merit as it will be no good if you are not successful in making recruiters aware of it.

 

Make it simple for the recruiter to spot the information that will get you hired. Highlight the important factors and divide all the information into neat sections.

 

Here are the 7 basic sections that you should frame in your Graphic Designer Resume:

 

  • Header
  • Personal Information
  • Profile Title
  • Summary / Objective
  • Key Skills
  • Professional Experience
  • Education

 

On top of this depending on the demand of your resume, you can also include these additional sections:

 

  • Certifications
  • Additional Information

 

4.   Make your technical skills stand out from your core skills

 

Any recruiter analyzing your resume would be intrigued to shortlist you in a jiffy if you highlight all the skills required for a graphic designer job.

 

Effectively endorse your skills by separating your core skills from your technical skills.

Take this snippet for example:

 

As you can see, the core skills of a graphic designer translate to skill sets that are unique to a graphic designer and other skills that one might acquire during their tenure. These are not limited to graphic designing skills and can encompass every skill that an individual holds.

 

On the other hand, the technical skills of a graphic designer mean the tools that they are familiar with which validates them as amazing graphic designers. Examples of these tools are InDesign, Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, etc.

 

It is essential to separate one from the other to help the recruiter identify the areas you are proficient in. They can easily scan this section to find out if your skillset matches their requirements.

 

5.   Tailor your resume according to each target job

 

Most of us are guilty of framing one generic resume and sending it to every job we apply to. With online job boards, it is very easy to find open positions and send your resume with one click. But focusing on quantity makes the quality of our job applications suffer.

 

There are hardly any two job listings that are the same. The basic graphic designer duties might remain the same, but there will be distinguished roles they will look for which will be unique to their organization.

 

You can get ahead in the game by tailoring your resume according to these specifications. Take the following suggestions into account to easily fashion a customized resume for individual jobs:

 

  • Identify keywords in the job description of your desired listing.
  • Eliminate those keywords (skills, requirements) that do not match your skills.
  • Replicate the remaining keywords in your resume. Remember that these keywords should be justified by your professional experience.
  • Repeat this process for every job you apply for.

 

Additionally, it makes your resume ATS friendly which is important because most recruiters use the applicant tracking system to shortlist resumes.

 

There is also the fact that recruiters are not industry experts so naturally their knowledge of what makes for a good graphic designer is limited to the skills they have been told to look out for. Hence, seeing these skills on a resume will motivate them to shortlist you.

 

Conclusion

 

Competition is increasing by the day for graphic designers. The year 2020 demands the perfect resume for you to land a job in the graphic designing industry.

 

Showcase your skills by following the guidelines laid out in this article to build an impeccable graphic design resume.

 

Looking back, here is a summary of the essentials of a graphic design resume in 2020:

  • Only insert information relevant to your targeted graphic design job in your resume.
  • Provide performance figures wherever you can.
  • Give a structure to your resume so the information is easy to spot by organizing the information within appropriate resume sections.
  • Distinguish your core graphic designing skills from your technical skills.
  • Tailor your resume for each graphic design job you target to increase your chances at a shortlist.